best FOR CONseRVAtION OF WILDLIFe & HAbItAts

winner Lilongwe Wildlife Centre, Malawi

Lilongwe shall not be moved

A flagship animal sanctuary is putting wildlife conservation at the heart of Malawi even though its very existence is under threat from land developers

A resident at Lilongwe Wildlife Centre, Malawi

alawi is one of the most densely populated countries in Africa and one of the poorest countries in the world, with enormous pressure on natural resources. Practices such as deforestation, poaching and the illegal trade of wild animals are all headline issues at a time when conservation of both wildlife and the environment is more critical than ever. For the past four years, both have had a new champion: Lilongwe Wildlife Centre, set up in 2007 in partnership with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife by a number of passionate local trustees. It is Malawis only sanctuary for rescued, orphaned and injured wild animals, and has rescued and rehabilitated more than 400 animals. Located in the heart of the capital city on 90 hectares of urban wilderness, it has also given city-dwelling Malawians the chance to see the value of conservation on their doorstep. Its visitor centre is accessible to all, including poorer sections of the community who would never have the chance to visit their own national parks and especially the thousands of schoolchildren who have taken part in subsidised education programmes. But its biggest single achievement could be simply to continue to exist. Despite a 25-year agreement with the national parks department, Lilongwe Wildlife Centre is constantly being eyed up by developers who would love to build on its prime land. Lilongwes response has been to become as high profile as possible a strategy which, so far, is working. Chosen by the Ministry of Tourism for the launch of Malawis Tourism Week in September, it was described by the ministrys assistant director Dyson Banda, as a jewel in our crown,

adding: I am proud to bring visiting dignitaries to this place to show the beauty of our cultural and natural heritage and the work being done to preserve it. Keeping the centre going has been hard work from the start. Kate Moore, who came in as marketing manager in 2009, says: The project would not have been possible without funding in the early years from the Born Free Foundation and generous local businesses, plus support from the Department of National Parks and Wildlife. Still, this was based on a very stretching projection that the centre would be financially self- sustainable through visitor revenues within five years something we achieved this year. Thats a huge leap of faith when you are based in one of the poorest countries in the world with only a trickle of international tourists. In the beginning word spread quickly that there was now a wildlife sanctuary and so the wildlife rescues were pouring in quicker than they could build the enclosures and remember this was thick bush and everything had to be done by hand. Also, you can never rely on anything in your day to day operations basics such as electricity, water and fuel are very unreliable, and anything from legislation to food prices can change from day to day. But weve come to accept these. Overcoming visitor expectations that they are not visiting a zoo is still an issue but it is not too hard once we show them the reserve and ask them if they would prefer the alternative of seeing unhappy animals in cages. The centres work with schoolchildren is of vital importance. They are ultimately the future of Malawi, says Kate. We are building long-term relationships with the local schools. We partner with them in

projects for example, we planted more than 9,000 trees and provided 12,000 fuel briquettes and the machinery to make them through these partnerships. We need to work hand in hand with the local communities if we are going to have a significant impact. Lilongwe, accredited as the first People and Wildlife Centre (PAW) by the Born Free Foundation, is being used as a case study for similar projects in Mozambique and Ethiopia, and Kate is certain the model can work: As with any responsible business model, it has many advantages from saving wildlife, to working with the community to preserve the environment. Although senior management is currently ex-pat, Lilongwe employs 40 locals and operates an international volunteer programme with up to ten places available at any one time. That really helps the project in terms of resource and skills. And that extra injection of enthusiasm and passion is always very welcome! says Kate. Kate herself works closely with general manager Jonny Vaughan. The two arrived together after taking a career break from high-pressured London life. We thought we would work for six months and then go travelling for another six. Over two years later it looks like were here for the long haul! The exciting thing is that we are in a position to genuinely make a difference in conservation here, and thats why it is so hard to even consider leaving there is always another exciting project around the corner. www.lilongwewildlife.org
BEST FOR CONSERVATION OF WILDLIFE & HABITATS, HIGHLY COMMENDED Africat Okonjima, Namibia Great Ocean Ecolodge, Australia
To read their stories, download the free r:travel app at www.responsibletravel.com/awards/app

xx | r:travel

r:travel | xx

best FOR CONseRVAtION OF WILDLIFe & HAbItAts

highly commended Great Ocean ecolodge, Australia

highly commended Africat Okonjima

wanted to reach across that barrier to empower and inspire people and create a link between conservation research and the real world. Through coming to stay with us guests can experience how comfortable sustainable living can really be and, through participation, develop an understanding of the natural world and their place within it. All profits from the ecolodge are reinvested into the centres conservation programmes, which include work with koalas and the tiger quoll. A what? Lizzie laughs: Many Australians have never even heard of quolls, either, which is a very bad situation for an endangered species. With males reaching only 7kg, tiger quolls are pretty small but they are fierce predators, able to take prey up to five times their own body weight. They are a furry, charismatic species that play a vital role in the Australian ecosystem More than 500 injured or orphaned animals have been rescued by Shayne and Lizzies team and rehabilitated back into the wild, and more than 100,000 indigenous trees, plants and shrubs planted to restore habitats. Lizzie is optimistic that ventures such as theirs will become increasingly mainstream. We have seen changes even over the past decade. When we began we met with much confusion when we spoke of comfort people could not perceive that a sustainable operation could mean anything other than discomfort and compromise. They also wondered where our dreadlocks were we just didnt fit the stereotype of the time! Today environmental sustainability is something all organisations must consider and discuss. www.greatoceanecolodge.com

Preserving the status quoll

EvEn by AustrAliAn stAndArds the Great Ocean Ecolodge is a pretty remarkable wildlife experience. From the moment you wake with the dawn chorus and see wild kangaroos peacefully grazing outside your bedroom window, you realise that this is a special place. Established as the charitable business enterprise of the Cape Otway Centre for Conservation Ecology, the eco-retreat rests within the grounds of the centre, just off the Great Ocean Road in the state of Victoria, and is surrounded by pristine bushland, lush rainforests, secluded beaches and steep cliffs, close to one of the worlds most spectacular coastlines. The ecolodge is entirely solarpowered and environmental sustainability underpins every aspect of the operation. Just ten guests stay here at a time. Both lodge and centre are the lifes work and passion of Lizzie Corke and Shayne Neal, high school sweethearts who discovered a shared love for each other and for nature. Together they established the centre in 2001 and opened the lodge in 2004 both to fund the centres work and to give visitors the kind of wildlife experience that would make them ambassadors for conservation. We have a beautiful mob of wild kangaroos who come and go from the National Park next door, says Lizzie. Many of our international guests have visited Australia a number of times, travelled right around the country and these are the first kangaroos they have seen. All guests enjoy a guided Nature Walk a two-hour ramble through the 165 acres around the lodge, spotting wild animals living freely in their natural environment. Lizzie explains: Often conservation, particularly research, is quite removed from the general public and we
Lucia Griggi

Well, it works for Brangelina!

As a result, they are often regarded as vermin by the livestock and gamefarming community and are deliberately trapped and/or killed. Okonjima is now home to The Africat Foundation, which began as a sanctuary for cheetahs and leopards rescued from irate livestock farmers, and is dedicated to the protection and conservation of all large carnivores in Namibia. It has become renowned for its environmental education, research, rescue, release and rehabilitation programmes, as well as its human-wildlife conflict work and community support projects. Africat has saved more than 1,000 carnivores since 1993, releasing 86 per cent back into the wild! Co-owner Donna Hanssen, who, with her brother Wayne and sister Rosalea, bought Okonjima from their parents Val and Rose in 1993, and turned the cattle farm into the conservation project, says: Our vision is one of holistic conservation, to restore balance to denuded farmland and re-establish the natural state of land which has been badly damaged by mans intervention over the past 140 years. This requires the removal of hundreds of kilometres of internal fences, management of scarce water resources and the removal of undesirable and invasive bush encroachment, as well as the creation of a natural and sustainable park for the naturally occurring animal species. For this to be realised and maintain relevance in the tides of change sweeping Africa, it must benefit local communities. Okonjima has created a 200 sq km nature reserve, which functions as a research, release and rehabilitation area. Tourism funds this park; guests staying at Okonjima view animals in their natural, restored habitat, while the revenue employs 71 permanent staff guides, trackers, rangers, household staff and maintenance engineers, and, in turn supports their extended families, more than 600 in total. A school has been built with tourism funds, enabling family units to remain together in a rural setting. Okonjimas tourism/conservation has won it widespread media attention the 2010 ITV series Cheetah Kingdom was one of many filmed on the reserve, while the 2006 visit of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie generated more column inches for Namibia than any number of awards or wildlife features! They stayed with us for four days and were among the easiest guests weve had, says Donna. Other supportive celebrity guests have included Chris Packham, Kate Humble, Ben Fogle, Lorraine Kelly and Joanna Lumley one of the most incredible people we have ever met. Conservation gets more and more complicated as we compete for land and space and food its about the survival of the fittest, and the super predator [man] thinks he will survive without the wildso he thinks, adds Donna. www.okonjima.com

Mark Chew

the quoll: worth points in scrabble!

nEstlEd Among thE omboroko mountAins in northern Namibia lies Okonjima a Herero name meaning place of the baboons. Okonjima was established as a small guest farm in 1986 by the Hanssen family, who, for many years had been avid, but struggling, cattle farmers. Rising livestock losses and post-independence interest in Namibia as a tourist destination, changed the face of Okonjima, and, with it, of carnivore conservation. Namibia is home to the worlds largest wild/free-ranging cheetah population; the majority of the countrys cheetahs and leopards can be found on approximately 7,000 commercial farms. These large cats occasionally prey upon the livestock that roam unprotected in the bush.

Video link: http://www.greatoceanecolodge.com/goe_010.htm

xx | r:travel

Video link http://www.okonjima.com/video_africat.php

r:travel | xx